Advertisements

Nov 30, 2011

Theme: MONKEY BUSINESS. Since it's actually a double theme, I'll also go with APE IN THE MIDDLE. Second things first: The four longest answers each contain the hidden word APE, split between the first and last names of a real or fictional woman, consistently parsed as -A PE-.18 A. Early Mary Tyler Moore role : LAURA PETRIE. Fictional Woman - Mrs. Rob PETRIE was a real dish on a favorite TV show from the distant past.

54 A. She played Carla Tortelli on "Cheers" : RHEA PERLMAN. Real Woman. You'd have to be, to be married to Danny Divito.

4 A. With 36- and 62-Across, kids' ball game, and something this puzzle's four longest answers have in common : MONKEY

36 A. See 4-Across : IN THE

62 A. See 4-Across : MIDDLE. In my neighborhood, we had a failure of imagination, and just called this often cruel game "keep-away."

Hi gang, it's Jazzbumpa, reporting from somewhere in APE country. Now, this dual theme is tight, cute, clever, and original. High marks for every bit of that. The only problem is that it's dead wrong! And thereby hangs a tail, so to speak. With that hint, I'll reveal why at the end, (which is sort of another hint, come to think of it.)

Let's see what other kinds of MONKEY BUSINESS we can uncover in APE country. Onward!

Across:

1. Trespass : SIN. I've heard these words used interchangeably in different versions of The Lord's Prayer.10. Collar or jacket : ETON. The collar extends over the lapels of a jacket. Would these be worn together in an ensemble?14. TNT element? : TRI. If all else fails, TRI-nitrotoluene. Here, breaking the word, rather than a molecule, into elements. Chemists love these run-on words.15. Ring of color : AREOLA. An old favorite here at the corner.

16. Powerful TV princess : XENA. TV series from 1995 to 2001.17. One of the Gershwins : IRA. George wrote the music, IRA wrote the lyrics.

20. Puts in a fresh pot : REPLANTS. RE-ANTES is a letter short.22. Habeas corpus et al. : WRITS. Formal written orders from a judge or body with legal jurisdiction. Other examples are warrants and subpoenas.23. Name of three presidents : GEORGE. Is it ironic that the first President George (Washington) led the fight for independence against King George III?24. Noodle product? : IDEA. How long did you have to noodle this clue?26. Glacial ridge : ESKER. I can never remember this word. Sounds Nordic.27. Horticulturist's hangout : NURSERY. Full of potted plants. Or pot plants. 31. Happy co-worker? : DOPEY. Hi-Ho, I got this one right off. Disney Dwarfs.33. Some TV screens : LCDS. Liquid Crystal Displays. Are TV and LCD still considered to be abrvs?34. Go for, as a prize : VIE. Somehow, though, "VIE for it," never quite made it into the vernacular.35. Hogwarts messengers : OWLS. From Harry Potter. In A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, they use ravens.38. Tower city : PISA. Famous Italian landmark.39. Bolo, for one : TIE. Neck wear - a western style string tie.40. Nudge : PROD. I've heard of a gentle nudge. Gentle PROD seems a bit oxymoronic.41. "I'm outta here!" : LATER. Alternative good-byes. Nope, can't say that just yet. Gotta do all those downs.42. Meeting of Congress : SESSION. "Obstruction" has too many letters.44. "Les Girls" actress Elg : TAINA. A Finnish actress. Here, you can see her, from teenager to octogenarian. 46. Latin word on a cornerstone : ANNO. A year in old Rome.47. Getaway : ESCAPE. Either word can mean "get out of a bad situation," or "take a small vacation."49. Ionian Sea island : CORFU. Dramatic.52. Place for a bargain? : BASEMENT. That's a bit of retro language from department store days. Now it's all big box stores.57. Genetic carrier : RNA. It goes DNA --> RNA --> protein.58. Arena level : TIER59. 2009 Ruben Studdard album : LOVE IS. Here he is, in some pretty good company.60. Held by us : OUR. Plural possessive personal pronoun.61. Numbers for one : SOLI. The plural of solo. This is also used to designate an orchestra section playing in unison or close parallel harmony.

63. Little thing to pick : NIT. There sure are a lot of female names in this puzzle.

If my hints didn't totally give it away, here's the scoop. An APE would be insulted if you called it a MONKEY. "W­ithin the suborder of anthropoids, primates are grouped into monkeys, apes and hominids. The easiest way to distinguish monkeys from the other anthropoids is to look for a tail. Most monkey species have tails, but no apes or hominids do." There are also many other differences.

This is a pretty big mistake, but I wouldn't go APE over it. I'm outta here.

Nov 29, 2011

Theme: Fun for the Whole Family - A few words and phrases that start with a bowling term and the unusual placement of the unifier at 1-Across

1A . Postseason gridiron game, and a hint to the puzzle theme found in starred answers : BOWL

17A. *Sign of a typing mistake : STRIKEOVER

25A. *Indigent's request : "SPARE CHANGE?"

38A. *Wizard's game in the rock opera "Tommy" : PINBALL. Both parts of this entry would work.

53A. *Street urchin : GUTTERSNIPE

62A. *Chain for plus-size women's fashion : LANE BRYANT

Argyle here but it should be Boomer; it's right up his alley. Also, an unusual grid with triple eights and sixes down the sides. I didn't find a few entries until my write-up but still it was harder then Monday's puzzle, IMO.

A note to regular posters: We'd love to celebrate your birthday on the blog. Please email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) if your name is not included in Dennis' original list. Thanks. And best wishes, Ron Worden!

Nov 26, 2011

Lots of proper names made this particular Silkie tough to get started, but a few WAGs and I was able to get a foothold in some places, and go from there. (BTW, foothold was what I wanted for 14D). Four sets of triple-sevens, and two sets of triple 10's, with what almost looks like an "S" (for Silk) in the central blocks....

18. Kennedy Space Center attraction : IMAX - I had ICBM to start, thought one might be on display there - hey, it is a rocket....

19. Orders : DICTA

20. Certain pilgrim : HAJI - Arabic, one who has completed the HAJJ (a crossword staple), the pilgrimage to Mecca

21. "Our House" songwriter : NASH - I had the wrong "Our House" in mind - generational thing, I must say - this is the Madness song of the 80's that I grew up with

22. Some ER admissions : ODs - I went to the hospital to detox, but not from an Over Dose

23. Campus letters : RHOs - the "P" in the Greek Alphabet, but the "R" sound

25. Must : NEED TO

27. Autos featured in the John Wayne film "Big Jake" : REOs - as seen at :29 of this trailer clip

29. Mine sight : ORE CAR

31. Hurt : AIL - had it, took it out, put it back in

32. Chubby Checker's real first name : ERNEST - one of those "you know it, or you don't" clues, but once I had _ _ ST, it was worth a WAG

34. Bond : ALLIANCE - last to fall; I had "RACE DAY" for 12D - 'fast time' - hey, sounded good, but the last "Y" messed me up

36. Yielding : MEEK

38. Its motto is Latin for "Always prepared": Abbr. : USCG - I had USMC at first; their Latin is Semper Fidelis, which I wrongfully thought meant Always Prepared; the proper translation in Always Faithful; Semper Paratus is "Always Prepared" more here

39. Measure of interpersonal skills : SOCIAL IQ - yeah, my IQ is high, but my SOCIAL IQ is lame....I found this link, but I did not take the test yet [ post update - took the test, scored 20 on the "summary", but the whole report costs $6 ]